Maureen Freely on Doris Lessing

Maureen Freely, author of the forthcoming novel Enlightenment, writes an article for The Guardian on Doris Lessing and the Nobel Prize.

Maureen, who has worked closely with Orhan Pamuk as his translator during the past five years, predicts that the Nobel will change Doris Lessing's life the way she has seen it change Orhan Pamuk's. Maureen translated both Pamuk's most recent collection, Other Colors, and his Nobel Prizewinning novel, Snow. She recounts the way international limelight has drawn criticism, death threats, and even assassination attempts on Pamuk by groups that don't appreciate his political stance on such issues as the Armenian genocide. Although Lessing's situation is different, Maureen makes the point that the Nobel is for life--it is an award that changes how you are seen forever.

Maureen, a very busy humanitarian activist herself, has just returned from Turkey, where she was during the most recent attempt on Pamuk's life in January. Maureen incorporates her very personal experiences with and knowledge of Turkish politics in Enlightenment, which approaches the topics of freedom of speech and political oppression in modern Turkey.